Radar Portfolio: Peter Hoffman

Working in a multitude of styles and expressions, Chicago photographer Peter Hoffman views his work a an attempt to reconcile being overwhelmed by both the beauty and the problems of life.

Living and working in the Chicagoland area, Peter Hoffman splits his time between taking commissioned photography work and making his own. Working in a multitude of styles and expressions, he views his works as an attempt to reconcile being overwhelmed by both the beauty and the problems that he sees in the world.

– It’s tough to give an overarching statement about my work. I’m a photographer that primarily works in a meditative tradition and have a fascination with abstraction that comes and goes. I work on multiple projects and ideas simultaneously, which is why I am including various works in the selection. Sometimes my photographs are finished when I activate the shutter, sometimes that’s only the first step of the final image. I’m interested in, and view most of my work as a sort of response to big picture questions – why are we here? What should we do while we’re here? How do we best live our life?

The camera is increasingly becoming more of a microscope to me rather than a bridge to the outside world

– My work is very influenced by the wandering nature of going on a run, when these questions often are most poignant to me. I have been a runner for years and it has had a profound effect on how I see the world. These days, the camera is increasingly becoming more of a microscope to me rather than a bridge to the outside world – but I do travel and break out of that mold on occasion. As I look back at all the work I’ve made the one thing that unifies it is the fact that it’s an attempt to reconcile being overwhelmed by both the beauty and the problems that I see in the world and in myself as a sort of passive bystander to it all. I could get into each project more specifically, but if we’re talking about the collective ethos behind what I’ve been doing for the past 5 or 10 years the above is probably as good as I can do in a succinct manner.

In addition to his personal projects, Peter Hoffman’s photographs have been featured in magazines such as Monocle, The Guardian: Weekend Magazine, The Fader, The New York Times, Runner’s World and others. Peter has also worked co-producing ADP WRKSHP, an annual workshop that brings photographers from across the U.S. together to showcase and discuss their work. In 2013, Peter was selected for Art Director’s Club Young Guns 11.

See a selection of Peter Hoffman‘s work above. You can follow along his trail running and neighborhood wanderings on Instagram.